Veneer-drying apparatus



I.. G. MERRTT.

VENEER DRYING APPARATUS. APPLxcATloNFILED MAY e. 1915.

Patented Aug. 15, 1916. v

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

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L. G. MERRITT.

VENEER DRYING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 6. I9|5 Patented Aug. l5, 1916.-

L. G. MERRiTT.

VENEER DRYING APPARATUS.

w 4 APPLICATION FILED MAY 6,1915. 119.652.,

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

Patented Aug. 15, 1916.

UNTTE STATES PATENT TFTTTQTL.

LOUIS G. MEER/ITT, 01E' LOCKPORT, NEW YORK.

VENEER-DRYNG APPARATUS.

Application tiled May 6, 193.5.

To @ZZ whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, Louis G. MERRITT, a citizen of the United States,residing at Lockport, in the county of Niagara and .State of New York,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Veneer- DryingApparatus, of which the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which itappertains to make and use the same.

The object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus whichshall ei'iiciently dry a number of layers of veneer, and, at the sametime, permit fresh layers of veneer to be placed in position to besubsequently dried, while the first named layers are being removed.

To attain the above object in a practical and satisfactory manner,provide a machine which will exert an equal pressure upon each of thelayers of veneer, While they are being dried. I also provide meanswhereby the pressure is intermittently relieved in order to permit theveneer to shrink while drying. l further provide for securing the besteffect from the heating devices by making them in sections so that theyadjust themselves to any irregularities in thickness of the sheet ofveneer which is being pressed between them.

@ther objects will be in part obvious and in part pointed outhereinafter.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction.,combinations of elements and arrangements of parts which will beexemplified in the construction hereinafter' set forth, and the scope ofthe application of which will be indicated in the following claims.

In the accompanying drawings wherein is illustrated one of the variouspossible enibodiments of this invention,-Figure 1 is a side elevationthereof; Fig. 2 is a front ele- 'ation thereof; Fig. 3 is a plan viewthereof; Fig. -i is an enlarged detail, partly in section, of means forlocking the rack bar and operating lever in operative position; Fig. 5is an enlarged detail, partly in section, showing the return bends andsupporting devices of the pipes composing the drying platens; and Fig. Gis an enlarged partial detail showing the method of covering the samepipes.

lPatented Aue'. 15, 119ML Serial No. 26,268.

Similar reference characters refer to similar parts throughout theseveral views of the drawings.-

Referring now to the drawings, the base of the machine comprises twol-beams 1 connected by four tie-rods 2. Upon each I- beam are bearings 3supporting the shafts fi, adapted to be rotated by plates G attachedthereto. The plates G, at each side of the machine, are movedsynchronously by links 7 and S pivoted, respectively, to the upper andlower extensions of the plates 6. Pivoted at 9 to the plates `6are'bearing members 10, fastened to upright channel bars 11 which formpart of the framework for supporting the drying platens, which will behereinafter described. The tops of corresponding channel bars onopposite sides of the machine are connected together by braces 12. Asshown in Fig. 1 there are three pairs of channel bars on each side ofthe machine, and the right-hand bars of each pair are connected togetherby one set of horizontal angle-irons 13, while the lefthand bars areconnected together by a corresponding set of horizontal angle-irons 13.The drying platens 14 are supported on these angle-irons, and it will beseen that in the construction disclosed, rotation of the plates G in onedirection causes one set of channel bars with the angle-irons andplatens carried thereon to be raised, while the other' set of channelbars with its angleirons and platens is, at the same time, lowered, andvice versa. rThis movement has the effect of bringing the drying platensof the two s ries into surface Contact, first as to one side of theplatens, then as to the other, leaving spaces between the sides of theplatens which are not in contact. When the platens come together in thealternative position of the channel-bars, what was a drying contactbefore now becomes a space, and vice versa. The effect of thisarrangement is to permit one-half of the platen surface of the machineto be available for unloading and loading veneer, while an equal platensurface is exerting an effective drying` action' upon other layers ofveneer.

As stated above, the drying platens 14C are carried by the angle-irons13 and 13 attached to the channel bars, and the construction of theplatens will now be described. Each platen consists of a coil of pipesthrough which steam is adapted to pass. In order to permit the platensto exert the best effect upon the layer of veneer held between them, Ipreferably make them up in sections in the manner shown in detail inFigs. 5 and G, in which 16 represents return bends into which pipes 17are adapted to be screwed. Each return bend is hollow, as shown at 18,in order to provide a. passage between openings 16, and to each of themare attached lugs 19 adapted to restupon the angle-irons 13 and 13. Asshown in Fig. 3 the return bends of each platen are on one side of themachine displaced with respect to those on the other side of the machineso that the pipes connected between them form a continuous coil.

20 and 21 are sets of manifolds, the former serving as a source of steamor heat supply and the latter as the exhaust. The opposite ends 22 and23 of each platen are connected respectively to one of the manifolds ofeach set by means of pipes 24. The use of a. plurality of manifolds inthe sets 2O and 2l forms a convenient method of compensating for therelative movement of adjacent platens. It will be noted from Fig. 1 thatthe angle-irons are inclined slightly from the horizontal to permitwater of condensation to drain to the lower end of each coil. The pipes24 may be of suicient rigidity to carry the manifolds to which they areattached without it being necessary to provide any other support. Theother connections to the manifolds 'may be made of suliicientflexibility to permit of the slight raising and lowering of themanifolds due to the movement of the platens to which they areconnected.

In order to permit the pipes of adjacent platens to come closelytogether during the operation of the machine the return bends 16 aredepressed, as indicated at points 25, the depression of one coincidingwith the position of the pipe of an adjacent platen.

It is apparent that it would not do to dry veneer between coils of hotsteam pipes, as the veneer would not be between flat surfaces, and thedrying would be uneven, being greatest in contact with the pipes andleast midway between them. It is therefore necessary to cover the pipesby some means which will serve the double purpose of distributing theheat and holding the veneer flat. It has been found, however, that ifthe entire coil be covered by one sheet of metal, the latter may warpand a sheet of veneer held between two such platens is not subject toequal pressure. In the present invention a sectional drying surface foreach platen is obtained by attaching to the pipes 17, in pairs, a seriesof plates 26, as shown most clearly in Fig. G. These plates may be ofany desired thickness of metal,

l and are clamped to the pipes 17 by being for.

riveted to members 27. The last-named members are formed with an uprightportion to which the plates of the platen are attached, as at 28, and ahorizontal tongue which spaces the edges of the plates a proper|distance from the adjacent return bends. If desired, additional postsmay be used between the plates 26 at intermediate points. The edges ofthe plates are turned inward, as indicated at 29, to prevent the veneerfrom being caught when it is being inserted or removed from the machine.The plates are perforated, as at 30, for the purpose of allowing escapeof the moisture as the veneer dries.

It will be seen from the above-described construction of the platensthat each one rests by its own weight upon the angle-irons at the sidesof the machine. The movement of the platens of one series with respectto those of the other is such that, when the layer of veneer is pressedbetween them, the upper platens will be lifted off of their supportingangle-irons and rest entirely upon the veneer. Thus any differences ofthickness of the layers of veneer are compensated Furthermore, owing tothe sectional construction of the platens, each one of them adaptsitself to any irregularities in thickness of the particular layer ofveneer upon which it rests. There is thus attained the maximumefficiency in drying of veneer, which is the object of my invention.

As has been previously explained, the two sets of platens are adapted tobe moved relatively to each other by raising and lowering the uprightchannel bars l1 by motion of the members 6. The means for moving themembers G will now be described. It is apparent from what has beenstated that two degrees of motion must be provided for. After eachdrying operation has been completed the platens must be separatedsufficiently to allow the dried veneer to be removed while other veneerwhich has been placed in the machine is brought between platens to be inturn dried. During each drying process, however, the upper platens mustbe intermittently raised from the veneer upon which they rest to permitthe same to shrink; otherwise it would split. In the embodiment of myinvention disclosed herein, the wide separation of the plates isproduced by a manual operation at the completion of each dryingoperation, while the lesser separation is caused automatically at therequired intervals. The mechanism for effecting these operations isshown, as a whole, in Fig. 1, while a detail thereof is shown in Fig.4;.

To one of the plates 6 is connected an arm 31 bolted on an extension 32on said plate. One end of the arm 31 has a yoke 33 through which a shaft34: passes. Fastened upon the shaft 34 and between the arms of the yokeis a pinion 35 meshing with a rack 36 on the .on the other end a gear41,

under side of a rack bar 37. Near the middle of the shaft 34 is rigidlyattached an arm 3S, the oscillation of which causes the pinion 35 torevolve in the rack 36 carrying the arm 31 to the right or left alongthe rack bar 37.

Tf the weight of the platens and their supporting frames was always in abalanced condition, the above-described mechanism would be sullicient toreverse the machine; but when the platens of one set engage the platensabove them, the latter are lifted ofil of their supports, and hence atthis point in the operation of the machine it is necessary to lift theweight of all of the platens. It is also necessary, in order to providefor the intermittent raising of the platens, that an oscillatory motionbe transmitted to the arm 31 by corresponding motion of the rack bar 37,which is caused by means which will be described hereinafter.

In order to meet the above requirements, one end of the arm 33 carries ashort shaft 39, on one end of which is a )inion 40 and oth fastened uponthe shaft. Loosely centered about the pinion shaft 34 is a mortisedblock 42 having a stationary or box gear 43 on its face. This blockprovides a sliding attachment between the arm 31 and the rack bar 37,which passes freely through the mortise therein. Box gear 43 and pinion40 constitute a planetary gearing, which, if the gear 41 attached to thepinion 40 be rotated, will cause the latter to travel about the box gear43. A pinion 44 is loosely mounted upon the shaft 34, and keyed theretois a handwheel 45. It will be seen that when the hand-wheel is turned,the pinion 40 will, by means of the intermediate gearing, be rotated,causing the pinion to travel around the box gear 43, rotating the arm33. Since the shaft 34 is rigidly connected to the arm 33, the pinion 35will be rotated, causing'it to travel along the rack 36 and carryingwith it the arm 31. Movement of the arm 31 actuates the mechanism forraising or lowering the channel bars 11 and the platens carried thereon,and through the increased leverage derived from the gearing the wholeweight of the frames and platens is easily lifted. The mortise block 42is provided with a supporting arm 46 which receives the end of the shaft34. The hub of the arm 33 is provided with a conical friction surface 47adapted to be received within a conical recess 43 in the pinion 44. Theend of the shaft 34 is threaded, as at 4?), to receive the threaded hubof a locking wheel 50.

Considering now the mechanism whereby the automatic raising and loweringof the platens to permit the shrinkage of the veneer held betweenthem isattained, the rack bar 37 is connected to an arm 51 pivoted at 52 to thebase of the machine, Two rollers 53 disposed at opposite ends of a slot54 in the upper end of the arm 51 coperate with a cam or eccentric wheel55 attached to a gear wheel 56 running loosely upon the shaft 57 passingthrough the slot 54 and supported by appropriate means. Gear 5G mesheswith a pinion 58 upon one end of a shaft 59, to the other end of which apulley GO, through which power may be applied, is attached. Therevolution of pulley (i0 causes the cam or eccentric wheel 55 to impartoscillatory movement to the arm 51 and reciprocatory movement to therack bar 37, which in turn transmits to the arm 31 suflicient movementfor lifting the plates to permit the shrinkage of the veneer.

In order that the arm 37 may transmit motion to the arm 31, the `lockingwheel 50 is operated to bring conical surfaces 47 and 4S intoengagement. This forces the pinion 44 into locked relation with the arm33, and so prevents any movement of the gear 35. In this condition, whenthe rack bar 37 is reciprocated the pinion 35 acts simply as a pivotalconnection between it and the arm .31, which is thus given anoscillatory motion of proper amplitude to cause suflicient separation ofthe platens.

In order to know at what points to make the locking connection betweenthe arm 31 and the rack bar 37, stop pins 61 adapted to be placed in anyone of a series of holes 62 in the bar near the extreme right andleft-hand positions of the arm 31, are provided.

Tn order to retain the heat of the platens within the machine as much aspossible, sheets of asbestos 63 are provided. These sheets are made upin sections adapted to be fitted between the channel bars 11 andretained in position by being attached to the supporting angle-irons ofone series of platens. At the front and rear of the machine are providedasbestos curtains G4 wound upon rollers 65 actuated by a chain 6Gpassing over a sprocket wheel 67.

It will therefore be seen that there is provided apparatus well adaptedto accomplish, among others, all of the ends and objects hereinbeforeset forth in an exceedingly simple and eflicient manner and thatstructurally considered the apparatus is of the greatest possiblesimplicity, which the nature thereof will permit, and is well adapted tobe made at a minimum of cost and to be readily assembled into a neat andcompact arrangement for accon'iplishing the purposes intended.

As many changes could be made in the above construction and manyapparently widely different embodiments of this invention could be madewithout departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all mattercontained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawingsshall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense. It isalso to be understood that the language used in the following claims isintended to cover all of the generic and specific features of theinvention herein described and all statements of the scope of theinvention, which, as a matter of language, might be said to falltherebetween.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent is:

l. In apparatus for drying veneer, in combination, a plurality ofmovable frames, each of said frames comprising upright columns andsubstantially horizontal supporting bars attached thereto, a pluralityof fixed bearings, shafts mounted in said bearings, devices attached tosaid shafts and connected to the bottoms of said upright columns, meansfor rotating said shafts whereby each of said frames is moved relativelyto the other, and drying platens adapted to be supported lby saidhorizontal bars, said platens being so formed and mounted that they mayadapt themselves to variations in the thickness of sheets of veneer heldbetween them.

2. In apparatus for drying veneer, in combination, a series ofsupporting bars, drying coils adapted to rest upon said bars, each ofsaid coils comprising a plurality of tubes, a plurality of return bendsto which said tubes are connected, lugs upon said return bends adaptedto engage said supporting bars, and plates attached to said tubes.

3. In an apparatus for drying veneer, in combination, a pair of movableframes, each frame consisting of upright members and substantiallyhorizontal members connected thereto, drying platens carried b\y saidhori zontal members, and means adapted vto relatively move said framesto impose the weight of the platens carried by one frame upon theplatens carried by the other frame.

4L. In an apparatus for drying veneer, in combination, a series ofsupporting bars, a plu 'ality of hollow members, lugs mounted upon saidmembers adapted to engage said supporting bars, a plurality of pipesconnected to said hollow members in such a manner as to form acontinuous coil, a plurality of plates, each of said plates beingadapted to cover a relatively small number of said pipes, and meanswhereby said plates are attached to said pipes.

5. In an apparatus for drying veneer, in combination, a series ofsubstantially horizontal bars, a plurality of pipes, return bendsconnecting the ends of said pipes, lugs upon said return bends adaptedto engage said horizontal bars, perforated plates, and means wherebysaid plates are attached to said pipes, each of said plates engaging anumber of pipes which is a relatively small fraction of the total numberof pipes.

6. In an apparatus for drying veneer, in combination, a series ofsubstantially horizontal supporting bars on opposite sides of themachine, a plurality of return bends, means on said bends whereby theymay be supported upon said bars, a plurality of pipes connecting saidreturn bends on opposite sides of the machine, said return bends on oneside of the machine being disposed with relation to corresponding bendson the other side of the machine in such a manner that the pipesconnecting them form a continuous coil, and a plurality of plates, eachof said plates being connected to a relatively small number of saidpipes.

7. In an apparatus for drying veneer, in combination, a pair ofsupporting frames, platens carried by each of said frames, means formoving each of said frames relatively to the other so that a portion ofthe platens may rest upon the remainder of the platens, and meanswhereby said platens automatically adjust themselves to any variationsof the surface upon which they rest.

S. In apparatus for drying veneer, in combination, a pair of movableframes, each of said frames comprising upright columns and substantiallyhorizontal angle-irons attached thereto, a plurality of fixed bearings,shafts mounted in said bearings, studs on the ends of said shafts,members connected to the bottoms of said upright columns and pivotedabout said studs, means for rotating said shafts whereby each of saidframes may be moved relatively to the other, and drying platens adaptedto be supported upon said angle-irons, said platens being constructed ofa plurality of sections adapted for movement with respect to othersections whereby the platens may adjust themselves to variations in thethickness of sheets of veneer held between them.

9. In apparatus for drying veneer, in combination, a plurality ofoppositely disposed supporting members, drying platens adapted to becarried upon each pair of corresponding supporting members opposite eachof said platens comprising two series of hollow members having aperturestherein, lugs attached to said hollow members adapted to rest upon saidsupporting members, a plurality of tubes adapted to connect theapertures of one series of hollow members with apertures of the oppositeseries of hollow members in such a manner as to form a continuous coil,connections to permit the entrance of a heating medium into said coil,an exhaust connection for said heating medium, a plurality of platesconstituting the upper and lower surfaces of the platen, each of saidplates engaging a pair of said tubes and having its edges slightlycurved about said tubes, and a device for clamping said plates upon saidtubes comprising an upright portion and a horizontal extension adaptedto engage said hollow members to maintain said plates in proper relationthereto.

10. In apparatus for drying veneer, in combination, a series ofsupporting bars, drying coils adapted to rest upon said bars, each ofsaid coils comprising a plurality of tubes, a plurality of return bendsto which said tubes are connected, lugs upon said return bends adaptedto rest upon said supporting bars, a plurality of plates, and means forattaching said plates to said tubes, said plates being formed withinwardly turned edges and having perforations therein.

11. In a drying platen, in combination, a plurality of hollow members,supporting devices attached to one end of said members, pipes attachedto the other end of said members, and plates fastened to said pipes insuch a manner as to form a substantially plane surface of said platen.

12. In a drying platen, in combination, a plurality of pipes, aplurality of return bends connecting adjacent ends of said pipes, meansattached to said return bends by which the same may be supported, aplurality of perforated plates, said plates being attached in pairs toeach group of a relatively small number of said pipes, and entrance andexit connections for permitting the passage of a heating medium throughsaid apparatus.

13. In an apparatus for drying veneer, in combination, a pair of movableframes, each of said frames comprising upright Acolumns andsubstantially horizontal supporting bars attached thereto, dryingplatens carried upon said supporting bars, each of said platenscomprising a plurality of pipes, plates attached to said pipes, returnbends to' which said pipes are connected, and lugs on said return bendsadapted to rest upon said supporting bars, said return bends beingformed and those of one platen being so disposed With relation to thoseof an adjacent platen that theplates of said platens may come intocontact Without contact between the return bends of said adjacentplatens.

111. In a machine for drying veneer, in combination, a pair of movableframes, each frame consisting of upright members and substantiallyhorizontal members connected thereto, drying platens carried by saidhorizontal members, and means adapted to relatively move said frames toimpose the Weight of the platens carried by one frame upon the platenscarried by the other frame, said platens being so constructed that theymay automatically adjust themselves to any variations of the surfaceupon Which they rest.

15. In apparatus for drying veneer, .in combination, a frame, supportingbars disposed in a substantially horizontal plane upon said frame, afieXible drying platen composed of a plurality of tubes, meansconnecting the ends of adjacent tubes, lugs upon said means adapted torest upon said supporting bars, a second frame having a plurality ofdrying platens similarly supported thereon, one of said drying platensbeing disposed above the other, and means adapted to relatively movesaid frames to cause adjacent platens to alternately contact andseparate.

1G. In apparatus for drying veneer, in combination, a frame providedwith substantially horizontal supporting bars, a plurality of flexibledrying platens having lugs adapted to rest upon said supporting bars,each platen comprising a plurality of pipes arranged adjacent to oneanother in a substantially horizontal plane, a second frame providedWith platens similarly supported and arranged, the platens of one framebeing alternately disposed With respect to the platens of the other, andmeans adapted to relatively move said frames to impose the Weight of theplatens of one thereof upon the platens of the other.

17. In apparatus for drying veneer, in combination, a series ofsupporting bars, drying coils adapted to rest upon said bars, each ofsaid coils comprising a plurality of tubes, a plurality of return bendsto which said tubes are connected, lugsupon said return bends adapted toengage said supporting bars, and means attached to said tubes adapted toprevent the same from coming in contact with the veneer.

18. In a drying platen, in combination, a plurality of hollow members,supporting devices attached to one end of said members, pipes attachedto the other end of said members, and means fastened to said pipesforming a substantially plane drying and pressing surface of saidplaten.

19. In apparatus for drying veneer, in combination, a series ofsupporting bars, drying platens adapted to rest upon said bars, each ofsaid platens comprising a plurality of tubes, a plurality of returnbends connecting the ends of said tubes and adapted to engage said bars,and plates attached to said tubes.

Q0. In apparatus for drying veneer, in combination, a series ofsupporting bars, drying platens adapted to rest on said vbars, each ofsaid platens comprising a plurality of tubes, a plurality of returnbends connecting the ends of said tubes and adapted to engage said bars,and means fastened to said tubes forming a substantially plane dryingand pressing surface of said platen.

21. In apparatus for drying veneer, in combination, a series ofsupporting bars, a plurality of hollow members adapted to engage saidsupporting bars, a plurality of Apipes connected to said hollow members,a plurality of plates, each of said plates being adapted to cover arelatively small number of said pipes, and means whereby said plates areattached to said pipes.

22. In apparatus for drying veneer, in combination, a series ofsupporting bars, a plurality of hollow members adapted to engage saidsupporting bars, a plurality of pipes connected to said hollow members,and means fastened to said pipes forming a substantially plane dryingand pressing surface.

23. In apparatus for drying veneer, in combination, a series ofsubstantially horizontal supporting' bars on opposite sides of themachine, a plurality of return bends adapted. to be supported upon saidbars, a plurality of pipes connecting said return bends on oppositesides of the machine, said return bends at one side of the machine beingdisposed with relation to corresponding bends on the other side of themachine in such a manner that the pipes connecting them form acontinuous coil, and means fastened to said pipes forming asubstantially plane drying and pressing surface.

2li. In apparatus for drying veneer, in combination, a movable framecomprising upright columns and substantially horizontal supporting barsattached thereto, a plurality of fixed bearings, a shaft mounted in saidbearings, means attached to said shaft and connected to said uprightcolumns, means for rotating said shaft whereby said frame is moved, anddrying platens adapted to be supported by said horizontal bars, saidplatens being so formed and mounted that they may adapt themselves tovariations in the thickness of sheets of veneer upon which they areadapted to rest while drying the same.

25. In apparatus for drying veneer, in combination, a pair of frames,each of said frames comprising upright columns and substantiallyhorizontal supporting bars attached thereto, drying platens carried uponsaid supporting bars, each of said platens comprising a plurality ofpipes, means fastened to said pipes forming a substantially plane dryingand pressing surface, and return bends to which said pipes areconnected,

said return bends being adapted to rest upon said supporting bars andbeing formed and those of one platen being so disposed with relation tothose of an adjacent platen that the plane surfaces of said platens maycome into contact without contact between the return bends of saidadjacent platens.

26. In a machine for drying veneer, in combination, a pair of frames,eachA frame consisting of upright members and substantially horizontalmembers connected thereto, drying platens carried by said horizontalmembers, and means adapted to relatively move one of said frames toimpose the weight of the platens carried thereby upon the platenscarried by the other frame, said platens being so constructed that theymay automatically adjust themselves to any variations of the surfaceupon which they rest.

27. In apparatus for drying veneer, in combination, a pair of frames,each of said frames comprising upright columns and substantiallyhorizontal supporting bars attached thereto, drying platens carried uponsaid supporting bars, each of said platens comprising a plurality ofpipes, means fastened to said pipes forming a substantially plane dryingand pressing surface, return bends to which said pipes are connected,and means adapted to relatively move one of said frames to impose theweight of the platens carried thereby upon the platens carried by theother frame, the return bends being formed and those of one platen beingso disposed with relation to those of an adjacent platen that the planesurfaces of said platens may come into contact without contact betweenthe return bends'of said adjacent platens.

28. In a drying platen, in combination, a plurality of pipes, meansfastened to said pipes forming a substantially plane drying and pressingsurface of said platen, and means attached to the ends of said pipespermitting the passage of a heating medium through said pipes.

In testimony whereof I afliX my signature, in the presence of twowitnesses.

LOUIS G. MERRIT'I.

Vitnesses:

Monteroni) C. IIOLLEY, ETI-rm, C. IIoLLnY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ive cents each, by addressing'the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C.

